Machine for placing liners in container closures



y 7, 1934. w. F. SCHMALZ 1,966,600

MACHINE FOR PLACING LINERS IN CONTAINER CLOSURES Filed Sept. 10, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l Wfl/famFSahma/z. @Mf m/a/ btUFH I/T MACHINE FOR PLACING LINERS IN CONTAINER CLOSURES Filed Sept. 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [HI/577750.21 .Wf/Ziam F 55/21715/2.

W. F. SCHMALZ July 17, 1934.

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3 Sheets-$heet 3 Filed Sept. 10. 1951 Patented July 17, 1934" UNITED STA ES PATENT OFFIC i MACHIN Fox PLACING was IN g CONTAINER CIJQSURES William Schmal Rockviilebmm 'assignor to Colts Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing 00., Hartford,"-onn., a corporation of Connecticut Application-September10,1931, Serial No. 562,18 '1 A is Claims; ((31.113-80) j A machine embodying the present invention is particularly adapted for the placing of gaskets or liners in closures for bottles or other-containers, especially closures which are provided with internal threads for engaging external threads on the bottles or containers. The closures or caps for which the machine is primarily adapted are molded from an artificial resin or other plastic material, but the machine while primarily adapted for use with molded caps is by no means so limited. 1

The general object of the invention is to provide a machine for-the purpose described which is simple and reliable, which is adapted to perform its work rapidly and with a minimum amount of attention from the operator and which completely seats the liners in the caps neatly and uniformly and without injury to the caps or the liners. 1 i

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a. machine of the class 'described'having means for rotating the liner'relatively to the map to efiect a more satisfactory engagement.

Other objects of the invention will'be apparent from the following specification and claims.

.In the accompanying drawings I have shown the embodiment of the invention-which I 'now deem preferable, but it willbe understood that the drawings are intended for illustrative purpo'ses only and are not tobeconstrued :as; defining ,or limiting the scopeo'f the' invention, the claims storming apart of this specification be'ing relied upon for that purpose; Of the drawings: i V v Fig. 1 is a front view of a mac'hine'embodying the invention. 1 A

Fig. 2 is a right end view. 'Fig13isaplanview.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional, view taken along the line 4'--4 of Fig. "3. Q Y

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the line 5 5 crime. 3. V

Fig. 6 is a detailed view 0 an enlarged scale.

showing the spring detents for holding the caps in the liner receiving position. i p

Fig. '7 includes aplan v'i'ew and a. combined sectional and elevational View of the plungerjo'r placing the liners in the caps. v r0 Figs 8 and Qarefragmentary views-on anen- 4 and 5 and showing those partsof the mechanism which are immediately involved inthe moving and holding of the caps {and ein'theplac- 1 ing of the liners therein. In these views a cap larged scale, corresponding respectively to j power shaft 3; The pulley 7 is, carried by the with a liner therein is being ejected andanew capvis being :moved into position.

. figs. 1 0 and .11 are viewsoorresponding 'respectively to Figs. 8 and 9 but showing the cap in liner-receiving position and showing the diner engaging plunger in position to move ailiner :upward into the can i I .Figs. 12'and '13 areyiews corresponding :respectively to Figs. B and 9 but showing 'the liner engaging plunger, in its uppermost position with 1% the liner pcressed into place in the 108.1). "Throughout the drawings the caps to be :supplied with liners are indicated icy-the "reference character A, and the iliners' are indicated :by the reference character B. The caps A may he of Y0 conventional design, but the machine is particularly adapted to place liners in 'caps -:of the type disclosed in my patent for Container closure or bottle :cap, No. 1,844,442; dated February 9, 1982,.

Caps of this type have special liner engaging 76 Mountedin suitahlel bearings on the frame is a main horizontalipowm' shaft 3 extend-' 7 ing transversely ofxthe machine; As shown the power shaft .5 provided with'tight and loose belt; pulleys 4 and 5 adapted for engagement with a suitable :belt not shown; It will be understood that when the belt iis-nn the pulley 4 the power lshaft 3 is continuously rotated. The pulleys are'shown merely as varepresentative means, 96

for supplying power to the. shaft 3, but it be understood that any 'otherusualor dm'ired :means for this ipurpose may be "used. 1

As a convenient means 'for moving the-caps A to the operative :portion of the machine 100 I prefer to use "and have shown a continuously moving endless belt, the efiectivezportion of which v is horizontal or'sub'stantiallyso- The beltasian entirety is 'represented :at 6, and it is supported and guided by means of "idler pulleys 'l, 8 and -9 106 and also passes around a drivepinion lo ou'the'i ably mounted and is pressed against the'helt 110 by means of a weight 11, the belt being thus maintained in proper tension.

With the machine as shown in the drawings it is contemplated that the caps A to be provided with liners are manually fed or pushed onto the belt 6, but it will be understood that any suitable automatic loading mechanism may be provided without in any way departing from the spirit of the present invention. As shown there is provided a loading plate 12 adjacent the left hand portion of the belt 6, this plate being carried at least in part by the top plate 2 of the extension frame 2. Preferably the rear portion of this loading plate 12 is slightly inclined as shown. It will be understood that in use a supply of caps to be provided with liners is placed on the plate 12,

these caps being manually moved or transferred from the plate 12 to the belt 6, care being taken that the caps are placed on the belt in upright position, that is, with the bottom of each cap facing downward.

In order to maintain the caps in a straight row on the belt there are provided suitable guide rails. As shown there are two rails 13 and 14 at the front and shorter rails 15 and 16 at the rear, these rails being carried by the top plates 2 and l Preferably the rails 13 and 14 are formed of sheet metal and carry angle barsl'? and 18 which partly overlie the caps to prevent them from being forced upward. The rails 13 A as they are fed and for holding them in fixed positions while the liners are being inserted.

When the caps are fed by means'of a belt such as has been described, it is necessary to transfer the caps successively from the front end-0f the row of caps on the belt to the predetermined liner receiving position.

' Adjacent the belt is a cap supporting means, preferably in the form of a plate 19, having its top surface at the same level as the top surface of the belt 6. The plate 19 has an aperture 20 I therein which at the top has approximately the same diameter as the liners which are to be inserted. Preferably the hole is slightly tapered, being larger at the bottom. It will be understood that the plate 19 is detachable, and that the machine may be providedwith a series of interchangeable plates having apertures of different sizes corresponding to the sizes of the caps and liners which are to be handled.

i It isdesirable that the top of the belt be T exactly in register with the top of the plate 19.

In: order to obtain this condition for belts of various thicknesses, I preferably providean adjustable belt supporting plate 21 immediately adiacent the cap supporting plate 19. The plate 21 is vertically adjustable by means of screws 21 21 and is clamped in adjusted position by means of screws 21 overlying the belt 6 is a stop 22 which limits the forward movement of the row of caps on the belt; Movable transversely in suitable guides 23, 23 on the top plate l is a slide carrying a cap engaging finger 2a. This finger is adapted to" engage the foremost cap on the belt and to transfer it from the belt to the liner receiving x position on the plate 19, that is, to a position on the plate 19 in register with the hoie 20. The slide carrying the finger 24 is operated by means of a lever 25 which is pivoted at 25 to a bracket carried by the main frame 1. A cam 26 on the main power shaft 3 engages a roller on the lever 25 and serves to move the lever 25 in the counter-clockwise direction, and it is returned in the clockwise direction by means of a spring 27. It will be apparent that by means of this cam and lever construction the slide is regularly reciprocated.

The transverse movement of the successive caps from the belt to the liner receiving position is controlled by means of transverse guides 28 and 29. The guide 28 is preferably an integral extension on the stop member 22 and the guide 29 is preferably an integral extension on the guide rail 16. Inorder to make adjustment for caps of different sizes the stop 22 with the guide 28 thereon is longitudinally adjustable as is also the rail 16 with the guide 29 thereon. In order to limit thetransverse movements of the caps and to prevent them from being carried beyond the liner receiving position the two guides 28 and 29 are provided respectively with spring pressed detents 30, 38, which are pivoted to the respective guides at 31, 31. These detents are pressed toward their cap engaging positions by means of springs 32, 32, such movement being limited by means of stop pins 33, 33. tents serve to momentarily retain the successive caps in their liner receiving positions, but they are nevertheless yieldable to permit one cap to be pushed out by the next following cap as indicated in Fig. 8.

While the spring detents 39, 3O serve to hold the caps approximately in their liner receiving positions it is necessary for the caps to be more accurately located and more securely held than would be possible by means of mere spring detents. I therefore provide above the liner receiving position a vertically movable plunger 34 which is adapted to descend and clamp each successive cap as it reaches the liner receiving position. Preferably in order that the plunger may not only clamp the cap but also accurately locate it the said plunger is provided at the bottom with oppositely inclined cap engaging portions as indicated at .35, 35. For the sake of simplicity of construction the portions'35, 35 may constitute parts of .a single concave conical surface. It Will be evident that when the plunger engages the cap as indicated in Fig. lll the cap is accurately located with respect to the hole 20 and is als firmly held in the desired position.

The plunger 34 is carried by a vertically mov able head 36 which is secured to the upper end of a vertically movable rod 37. This rod37 is guided in suitable'bearings in a supporting member 38 secured to the top plate l 37 is vertically reciprocated by means of a connecting rod 39 pivotally connected at its upper end to the rod 38 and carrying at its iower end an eccentric strap 40 which engages an eccentric 41 on the shaft 3. It will be seen that by means 1';

of the eccentric and the connecting rod and the other parts described, the plunger 34 is regularly reciprocated. The movement of the plunger is so timed that the plunger engages the cap The deimmediately upon its being moved to the liner receiving position by the finger 24. The plunger 34 is vertically yieldable with respect to the income pressure that may be app ied :by the plunger to the can, thusuassuring nniiorm pres ure on all caps netwithstandme :minor variations in size and theretorepreventingbreakaze. a

The normal position of the plun er 34 with respect the beanie-may be changed ;by.means of a nut 43 engaging threads truths upper end of theplungcr. It will be understood that this adjustment maybe necessary to adapt the me, chine vfor handling caps of different heights! Immediately adjacent the hole 20 in the nhtte 19' there is located a vertical magazine or euide.

tube 44 adapted for holdingnnd supplying the.

liners B which are to beplaced in the reaps. Fretvice or by means of a supply tube such :83 indi cateclat 46 in 'Figsil and12. Thesupply tubcmay be manually filled with liners and then inserted in the :top of the main feed tube '44. Each supply tube upon becoming empty is replaced with a filled itube.

Formed the :bottom .of the plate .19 is a. chan nel which extends trom the bottom of the :tube

44 to the hole 20. Movable in this channel is .a

finger 48 which is adapted to engage the lowermost liner in the tube 44and push it horizontally into the lower :part of :the :hole 20. ".llhisxaction will be apparent iflOm an examination iof Figs. :9

l and 11. The finger 48 is formed as an extension on a plate 49 which plate is carried by a slide :50 movable in guides .51, :51 ion :the top 11118329 '1 "The slide 56 is adapted to :be reclprocated by means of albellcran'k 52 :pivotedat 63110 al-bracket-von'the main frame 1. The lower .armof Lthe :bellrcrank 52 carries a roller .w-hlch'engages a cam -54 on the shaft 3. "Thelbell crank is moved in one dlrection by the .cam and in the opposite direction by :a spring 55. It w-lll'be apparent that by means of the cam and bell crank the :slide :50 is regularly reciprocated, carrying with it the finger G8. Theserparts are so timed that each liner reaches its position in the hole 120 at substantially the same instant that the capreaches its :llner receiving position over the hole20.

In order that adjustment may vbe made for :liners of different diameters the plate 49 is vadjustable on the slide 50, adjustment being effected by c releasing the olamping boltfifi and relatively snow 7 ing the :plate 49 by means oi the adjusting For moving the successive liners :B upward :into

the respective caps, lzprovidela vertically movable plunger 158. This plunger is guided at its auppfir end :by means of a plate 59 located immediately However it is oneof the purposes of th pre ent invention :to place liners in cans of the type dis-y closed in any aforesaid pending :amflicaticn. When ilincr retaining threads a are provided :it is necessary for the liner to be rotated as it is pushed into the cap inorder that ltmay properly engage with and :be held by thesaid threads. :In rder to thus rotate the liners the plunserzlifl is continuously rotated, this its rotary motion serving to rotate each liner and force it into proper engagement with the special threads 0. inthe cap. 7

When the liner is rotated as it is moved upward by the plunger, there is sometimes a tendency for it to be :thrown outward by centrifugal force so as to assume an eccentric position. This eccentricity might-cause the liner to failto properlyseat itself within the cap. In order to avoid. this possibility the plunger 58 may carry. a Small centrally disposed spring pressed prick point 60 which is shown in detail in Fig. '7. It will be observed that the prick point 60 is carried by a spring pressedplunger 6-1 and it will be apparent that as the plunger moves upward the prick point 60 will engage the liner-and penetrate it sufficient- 1y to prevent it from moving to anecoentrfic position.

' bearings 63, 63 in a verticallygmovable slide .64.

The spindle :62 carries a belt pulley 65 which pulley is'engaged by a round ,belt 66., This belt 66 passes over idler pulleys 67, 67 and over a drive pulley 68 on the shaft 3. The plunger :58 is detacheble train the spindle 62 a d may be replaced by other ,plungers-of-d-ifierent sizes. It will be understood that when the plunger is changed theguide plate59 is also changed,

The slide 64 is guided in :a suitable bearing in the supporting member 38, The slide -.6 4 .is vertically reciprocated by means of a connectieg rod .69 which is pivotally connected with the slide and which at its lower endls provided with an eccentric strap 70 engagmg an eccentric F11 on the, shaft 3. eonnectingrod :69 is preforably adjustable in length by means of an intermediate member fill 'which, is provided with right hand and left hand threads as indicated. By

Plunger by reason of adjusting the m mber 69 the length of the :0011- v nesting rod can be changedthus adjusting the stroke of the plunger so that it will move upward to exactly the rope ent As the lin d i epsa e successively discharged from the liner receiving position they enter a hute '12 through wh ch' they larez guidodzand from which they may discharge into any suitable receptacle such as that shown at C. The oporationof the machine will be fully pparent. irom the foregoing description and only a brief resume is necessary; The leaps 1A are plaoedon the belt 6 with their open ends lacing downward and are transferred f-rozn the belt to the liner receiving position, by means of the finger 24; :Atthi-s liner receiving position they are uccessively centered and clamped by means of he plunger 34,- Simultaneously 'with the V movement of each cap to its .line receiving posh IL tion a liner B is moved by the finger 48 from the bottom of the tube 44. to a QQSiQtiOH immGdiBEtBl-Y below the cap. Thereupon the liner engagedbyrthe rotating gplunger 58-and moved ward into the-can, being at the same time rotated so 1 st p o e ly enga e the spe ial threads 1a in the cap. As soon as the plunger 58 is withdrawn from the can the latter is released bythe plunger 34 and is forc d ou of he liner receiving position by the next following-cap as it moves into anism and with the cap holding means for successively moving the liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

11. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a stationary supporting plate having a flat top surface and having an aperture therethrough, mechanism for successively feeding the caps to an upright liner receiving position with the bottom of each cap adjacent the said top surface of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, each cap as fed by the said mechanism serving to eject the next preceding cap from its said liner feeding position, a reciprocating plunger for engaging each cap at the top thereof and momentarily clamping it against the said flat surface of the plate in its said liner feeding position, and means operating in synchronism with the cap feeding mechanism and with the clamping means for successively moving the liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

12. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a series of caps with their bottoms facing downward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a transfer slide adjacent the stop for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a predetermined liner receiving position with their bottoms still facing downward, means for momentarily holding the successive caps in the last said position, and means adjacent the last said position for placing liners in the successive caps.

13. A machine as set forth in claim 12, wherein there are provided guide rails extending longitudinally of the belt and serving to maintain the series of caps in a straight row.

14. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a series of caps with their bottoms facing downward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a supporting plate adjacent the stop and having an aperture therethrough, a transfer slide for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a liner receiving position with the bottom of each cap adjacent the top of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, means for engaging each cap and momentarily clamping it in the last said position, and means operating in synchronism with the transfer slide and with the clamping means for successively moving liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

15. A machine as set forth in claim 14, wherein there is provided a vertically adjustable supporting means for that portion of the belt which is immediately adjacent the plate.

16. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a series of caps with their bottoms facing downward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a supporting plate adjacent the stop and having an aperture thercthrough, a transfer slide for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a liner receiving position with the bottom of each cap adjacent the top of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, transverse guides between which the caps are moved by the transfer slides, the said guides being adjustable in opposite directions to accommodate caps of different sizes, means for engaging each cap and momentarily clamping it in the liner receiving position, and means operating in synchronism with the transfer slide and with the clamping means for successively moving liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

1'7. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a series of caps with their bottoms facing downward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a supporting plate adjacent the stop and having an aperture therethrough, a transfer slide for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a liner receiving position with the bottom of each cap adjacent the top of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, yieldable fingers for limiting the last said movement of the successive caps and for approximately locating the caps in the liner receiving position, and means operating in synchronism with the transfer slide for successively moving liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

18. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a series of caps with their bottoms facdownward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a supporting plate adjacent the stop and having an aperture therethrough, a transfer slide for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a liner receiving position with the bottom of each capv adjacent the top of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, transverse guides between which the caps are moved by the transfer slides, the said guides being adjustable in opposite directions to accommodate caps of different sizes, yieldable fingers carried respectively by the adjustable transverse guides for limiting the last said movement of the successive caps and for approximately locating the caps in the liner receiving position, and means operating in synchronism with the transfer slide for successively moving liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

19. In a machine for placing liners in closure caps, the combination of a continuously moving substantially horizontal feed belt adapted for carrying a seriesof caps with their bottoms facing downward, a stop for limiting the movement of the caps in the direction of the belt movement, a supporting plate adjacent the stop and having an aperture therethrough, a transfer slide for moving successive caps transversely from the belt to a liner receiving position with the bottom of each cap adjacent the top of the plate and in register with the aperture therein, yieldable fingers for limiting the last saidmovement of the successive caps and for approximately locating the caps in the liner receiving position, a reciprocating plunger for engaging each cap and momentarily pressing it against the plate, the said plunger having oppositely inclined cap engaging portions whereby each cap is accurately registered with the aperture in the plate, and means operating in synchronism with the cap feeding means and with the plunger for successively moving liners through the said aperture into the respective caps.

WILLIAM F; SCHMALZ. 

